the spacious deluxe room
Big hotel is located on middle road, just diagonally from where the future Bencoolen MRT station will be built. It's also between Bugis MRT and Dhoby Gaut MRT, and a stone's throw away from various shopping areas including Bugis street and Plaza Singapura, making it a convenient place to head back to rest and unload your shopping!
The facade of the hotel is very modern-looking, with glass panels and an automatic door. We arrived on a saturday afternoon slightly after 3pm, and walking down the stairs that lead to the reception on the basement floor, the hotel looked very busy.
circular stairway leading from ground floor to basement reception area and breakfast area
the bf
We were greeted by the cheerful front office staff who asked for our documents for verification, and then proceeded to check us in. As there were other guests concurrently checking out/in, the entire process took about 10-15 minutes. Whilst waiting at the counter to be checked in, we looked around the area.
Just in front of the reception was a large resting area with a sofa and chairs, and a large flat screen television, with some magazines and reading materials splayed over a table for guests to browse freely. As it was December, the lobby area also had a festive feel to it, with festive decorations, mini snowmen, and a large christmas tree placed right next to the stairway. The decorations gave the entire lounge a very bright and welcoming atmosphere.
During check in, we were surprised to be provided a tablet that would enable us to surf the net as well as browse various games and also control the light switches within our hotel room.
image credit to Big hotel
As we hadn't had lunch yet, we quickly took the lift up to our room, unloaded our things in the room and went out for a quick dim sum lunch at Victor's kitchen in Sunshine plaza, just across the road.
After lunch, we met up with a couple of friends at the Cathay for dinner and sat a bit longer to chat. By the time we returned it was almost 11pm. Seeing that on the second floor of the hotel, there seemed to be a bar area, we decided to walk through it to see what it had to offer.
It was then that we realised the bar/chillout area was called 'The Grape and Grain', and they offered a wide variety of wines and champagnes as well as their own inhouse beer from their microbrewery.
image credit to big hotel
As we were feeling tired, we decided to give it a miss and returned to our room to rest. Walking through The grape and grain towards the lift lobby, we saw that there was a gym room located to the right of the lobby. Though we didn't have time to use the gym, i liked the idea that there were gym facilities available given the lack of the pool due (likely due to space constraint) and also that they seemed to be rather new and well-maintained.
small but well-equipped gym
Our room was located on the eighth floor, towards the left of the lift lobby, down a small aisle, not too far from the water dispenser in the common area.
As we unlocked the room using the key card given, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the room was quite spacious and very stylishly designed, with a minimalist industrial-chic feel to it. The use of gold and wooden tones complimented the whole design of the room very well, making us feel very comfortable.
our room for the night :)
What i was particularly impressed with was the really comfortable bed. Big hotel prides themselves on using quality high thread count linen that provides guests with a good night's rest. Having experienced it ourselves, we agree wholeheartedly that the wonderful beds are the best thing about Big hotel! Personally i appreciate the approach they've taken - for guests like myself, quality rest is the most important- something i value much greater than pleasing aesthetics or fanciful facilities.
A selfie on the awesome bed!
Overall though their deluxe room was a little on the narrow side- especially the shower and toilet area, we were really pleased with the quality of the amenities and general design of the room.
panoramic shot of the room
As we settled ourselves onto the bed and switched on the television, we were pleasantly surprised to see that on the home screen, they had put on a welcome message addressed to me. Though this is a small gesture, it's very thoughtful and is a nice touch.
While the bf went to shower, i played around with the Nexus tablet loaned to us for the duration of our stay. I was really impressed by the variety of things i could do and access on the tablet- i could watch the television, free movies on demand (to be played on the television), check on flight details, the weather, surf the net, and even control the light switches within the room!
While browsing through the free movies on demand for watching, i go thirsty and so decided to look for water. Luckily Big hotel had provided us with 2 small bottles of water, to keep us hydrated. Though not all hotels provide this, personally i feel this is something that should definitely be a given.
image credit to Big hotel
Aside from bottled water, the room had other facilities such as notepad and pen, complimentary tea, as well as shampoo, shower foam , toothbrushes and toothpaste and a hairdryer.
Overall all this contributed to a really wholesome and well-rested saturday night at Big hotel. The next day morning we packed our bags and went down to the Nook, Big hotel's all-day dining restaurant, for our breakfast before checking out.
Despite the our overwhelming positive experience at Big Hotel, Nook failed to meet our expectations, leaving a slight mar on what would have been a spotless scorecard for Big hotel.
We were entitled to two complimentary breakfasts, and decided to go with the western option ($16), that from the visuals, seemed to include a croissant, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages, as well as choice of coffee or tea.
When we received our breakfasts however, we were appalled to find that our breakfast looked nothing like what was displayed on the visual - the sausages looked like the cheap frozen sort instead of hearty German sausages; the scrambled eggs looked watered down and sad; our croissant had been replaced with a cold piece of toast, whilst the bacon was replaced by a small piece of ham.
The coffee, which the boyfriend had, also seemed watered down and tasted awful. Given we weren't paying guests, we hadn't had much to complain, but i'd expect guest who purchased the meal set at $16 would find this a really bad deal.
Food aside, the nook's dining area itself however, is nicely decorated, comfy and very welcoming. With a range of different kinds of seats - from curved plastic chairs to cushy sofas, it allows diners to take their pick for whichever seating type best suits them. As we were having a proper meal, we dined at the proper table area and felt comfortable dining there.
Overall despite the slight disappointment experienced at breakfast at the Nook, our stay at Big hotel was an overwhelmingly positive experience. Given it's rather mid-range rates, convenient location and very up-to-date amenities, not to mention comfy beds, we would highly recommend Big hotel to anyone looking for a comfortable stay in Singapore.
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